42 



AMERICAN MEDICINAL BARKS. 



Fig. 3' 



-Dogwood (Comus florula), trunk. 



. Habitat and range. — Dogwood, native in this country, occurs in woods from 

 Massachusetts and southern Ontario to Florida, Texas, and Missouri, but grows 



most abundantly in the Middle States. 

 Description of tree. — The dogwood, 

 which belongs to the dogwood family 

 (Cornacese), is never a large tree, its 

 greatest height being 40 feet, and more 

 frequently it occurs as a shrub. It is 

 one of the most conspicuous trees in 

 early spring, the naked, leafless 

 branches supporting numerous large, 

 showy white flowers, so called. The 

 white, petal-like parts, however, which 

 are the most showy portions, are in 

 reality " bracts," the " flowers " them- 

 selves being greenish yellow and in- 

 conspicuous, except for these four sur- 

 rounding bracts. The four bracts, or 

 petal-like parts, are white, sometimes 

 pink tinged, of an inverted oval or 

 heart shape, with prominent parallel 

 veins, and peculiarly notched at the 

 end, as though a piece had been torn 

 or bitten out. (Fig. 38.) 

 After the flowers have disappeared the leaves are put forth. These are 

 generally oval, entire, from 3 to 6 inches in length, the upper surface dark green 

 and smooth or only minutely hairy, 

 while the under surface is lighter in 

 color with slightly hairy veins. The 

 leaves turn a bright red in autumn 

 and with the scarlet fruit, or berries, 

 form a very showy and attractive addi- 

 tion to the autumnal woods. (Fig. 38.) 

 The trunk of the dogwood is covered 

 with a grayish brown, rough, and As- 

 sured bark (fig. 37), and the brown 

 wood is hard and close grained. 



Description of baric. — The root bark 

 as found in the stores has had the fis- 

 sured grayish brown outside layer re- 

 moved and consists of short, reddish 

 brown, curved pieces or chips about 

 one-eighth of an inch in thickness. The 

 inside is of a reddish purple color, with 

 many short, broad grooves. The frac- 

 ture is short. It has an astringent, 

 bitter taste, but practically no odor. 



Collection, prices, and uses. — Dogwood 

 bark is collected from the root in the 

 fall. It brings from 1 to 3 cents a pound. 



It is used in medicine for its astringent, tonic, stimulant, and febrifuge 

 properties and in the fresh state is said to be emetic. The root bark was official 

 139 



Fig. 38. — Dogwood (Comus fforida), leaves, 

 flowers, and fruits. 



